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Friday, November 16, 2012

Guest Column: GOP Message Has to Be for Every American

By Congressman Joe Pitts

Pennsylvania - 16th District

Whenever a
political party loses a major election there is a certain amount of soul
searching that goes on. This is a healthy process. If Republicans don’t ask
what went wrong and what can be done better next time, we will never move
forward.

I am
certainly glad that Republicans will continue to lead the House of Representatives.
However it is also clear that the American people did not sign on to the vision
put forward by our party in the 2012 election. I believe strongly in
conservative principles, but we need to think hard about how we turn those
principles into concrete proposals and how we show that our ideas will lead to
a stronger, more prosperous nation.

Polls before
and after the election showed that the American people thought that the
Republican nominee would do a better job of running the economy. The economy
was the number one issue for most Americans, but it wasn’t the only thing
people thought about when they were entering the polling booth.

Caring is
critical. The job of president is about far more than budgets and spreadsheets.
The decisions that have to be made cannot always be reduced to numbers and
data. The American people want a president who is thinking about them on a
personal level. Exit polls showed that President Obama had an 11 point lead on
the question of which candidate was more in touch with the American people.

This reminds
me of the famous, “Who would you rather have a beer with?” question from the
2000 election. George W. Bush won that tongue-in-cheek poll, and also won the
election. Despite a privileged upbringing, Bush was able to convince the
American people that he would be a caring president.

By contrast,
Mitt Romney’s statement about the “47 percent” portrayed himself as a person
who thought in figures and numbers and who wrote off voters based on
demographics and economics. I don’t know if any politician who writes off
nearly half of the electorate could be voted dog catcher, let alone president.

If
Republicans want to lead, our message of opportunity and prosperity has to be
for every American. We have to make it clear that our policies will benefit citizens
from all across the economic spectrum.

Rich, poor
and middle class Americans want a fairer nation. I believe that Republican
principles of standing up for job creation, opportunity and personal liberty
are the best way to raise the standard of living for everyone.

I believe
that every American dreams of having more than food stamps, public housing and
Medicaid. I know that people who are on these programs dream of a better life
for their children. We have to demonstrate that Republican policies are better
at providing opportunities for poor Americans to move into the middle class.

Government
may be able to provide a safety net, but it will never be able to create the
good private sector jobs that build a more prosperous society. Four years ago,
we saw the stimulus bill spend nearly a trillion dollars with little effect on
employment and no effect on median household income.

The typical
American family made 7 percent less in 2011 than they did in 2007. Despite
government spending at a record level compared with our GDP, we are in the
midst of the weakest economic recovery since the Great Depression. The wealthy
continue to do fine, while poor and middle class Americans struggle.

Republicans
need to be fighting poverty just as hard as Democrats, but we shouldn’t do it
the old, tired way of throwing money into the bureaucracy. An ever expanding
federal government hasn’t reduced the poverty rate and hasn’t fixed our broken
inner city schools.

Since I came
to Congress, I’ve looked for free market solutions to help low income
individuals save for college and for their retirement. Over the past year, I’ve
been working with other members to promote free market
solutions to the problems that keep families in poverty. We can have a powerful
message of hope for Americans who are struggling economically, and we don’t
need to consider any citizen a lost cause.

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About Me

Tony A. Phyrillas is a leading conservative columnist, commentator and blogger based in Pennsylvania.
A veteran newspaperman with 30 years experience as a reporter, editor, photographer and columnist, Phyrillas received a first place award in 2010 for best column from the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors and a first place award in 2007 for Best Opinion Column from Suburban Newspapers of America. He was recognized for column writing in 2007 by the Society of Professional Journalists, Keystone Chapter and in 2006 by the SPJ Greater Philadelphia Chapter.
Phyrillas is ranked among the most influential political bloggers in Pennsylvania by BlogNetNews.com.
Odyssey: The World of Greece magazine named Phyrillas one of the leading Greek-American bloggers in the world.
A Penn State University graduate, Phyrillas is city editor, opinion page editor and political columnist for The Mercury, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper in Pottstown, Pa.
Phyrillas is a frequent guest on talk radio and panelist on the "Journalists Roundtable" program on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.
He co-hosted a weekly radio program on WPAZ 1370 AM for 2 years.